Looking for a good college (Minneapolis, Duluth: credit, home, dorm)

[Kizziebird]

Hi, My daughter will be graduating in 2 years and we are starting to research colleges for her. She mentioned attending St. Cloud State because one of her relatives went there and so far she hasn't really talked with anyone one else about it. I have always heard that St. Cloud is notorius for being a party school and am concerned about that. I realize partying is a fairly typical thing to do while attending college, but would be interested to know if there are colleges that are less likely to have that on the campuses? I have also heard that private colleges can actually cost less in the long run as they have a lot more money for grants and financial aid. She would like to stay in the state, so we are only looking at schools in Mn. Also, is it best to attend a community college for the first 2 years to get the 'generals' out of the way at a lesser cost, then transfer the credits to a regular college? Thanks for your thoughts!!

[newcastle]

You can attend any MNSCU and graduate with your associates degree and then transfer into a private college as a junior. If she goes out of state some colleges will not accept the credit for the same class as a MNSCU.

The College of St. Scholastica (I attended CSS) pledges to graduate you in 4 years rather than the 5 to 6 years it now takes to graduate with a bachelors from most colleges and universities because students cannot get the courses they need for their major.

The best advice I can give is to do as many campus visits as possible, sit in on some classes, and meet some students and staff. You get a feel for the campus and can get a sense if it is a good fit.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by Kizziebird

Hi, My daughter will be graduating in 2 years and we are starting to research colleges for her. She mentioned attending St. Cloud State because one of her relatives went there and so far she hasn't really talked with anyone one else about it. I have always heard that St. Cloud is notorius for being a party school and am concerned about that. I realize partying is a fairly typical thing to do while attending college, but would be interested to know if there are colleges that are less likely to have that on the campuses? I have also heard that private colleges can actually cost less in the long run as they have a lot more money for grants and financial aid. She would like to stay in the state, so we are only looking at schools in Mn. Also, is it best to attend a community college for the first 2 years to get the 'generals' out of the way at a lesser cost, then transfer the credits to a regular college? Thanks for your thoughts!!

SCSU is a "party school" but as you know, most schools are party schools. They have homecoming and graduation "riots" in St Joseph too. Maybe a school like a bible college would have less partying. Or maybe Bethel. I think the community college route for generals is the most practical. But there is also something about the four year college experience. Developing more of a connection with the university.

[golfgal]

They party at Bethel too, they are just more sneaky about it . Every college is a party college--the level to which you party is up to each individual. There are plenty of kids that go through college never attending a party and there are plenty of kids that are pretty much drunk for 4 years.

If you want to start the community college route be VERY careful about class selection. Most of the private schools won't take CC transfers or what they do take is very limited. Even transferring from college to college you can lose credits. I know CC's are less expensive but in the long run it could end up costing more if you do 2 years at a community college then only have 1/4th of your credits transfer then have to do 3 1/2 years at a 4 year school.

All of the MIAC schools are very good schools. If she likes the St. Cloud area, St. Ben's is a wonderful school. The great thing about St. Ben's and St. John's is the networking that happens AFTER graduation. The alumni groups and functions they have are outstanding. If she is looking for a job at a company where another CSB or SJU grad works, often that alone will be enough to get an interview.

I agree with ozzie, campus visits are a must. Yes, it is true that often private schools end up being less expensive then state schools with the grants and scholarships they offer. We have some good friends who's DD is graduating this year. She looked into SMSU in Marshall, U of M Morris and St. Ben's. St. Ben's ended up being $2000 less then the others because of her grad scholarships alone-not including the private scholarships she will be getting.

The best way to save on college costs in MN is to take the dual high school/college courses offered--if you are near a 4 year school to be able to do that. She gets college credit and high school credit. There are kids that do this full time and end up starting college as a junior. I don't recommend going full time because you do miss out on a lot of high school stuff--if she doesn't care then it doesn't matter.

Does she have ideas of what she wants to do when she graduates?

[Kizziebird]

Thanks so much for all of your input!! I am going to save it to show her. She is considering a career as a psychologist. She will be taking quite a few advanced classes this next school year (11th grade). I really tried to get her to take some of the college classes, but when she found out she would have to actually leave school to go to the local college-she said no way. Unfortunately she suffers with anxiety (mostly separation) and so the idea of leaving high school during the day freaked her out. I am at least really happy she is doing the advanced classes because of course I think she is super smart!! I made the choice not to attend college, and married fairly young and had my children right away. I was able to stay home with my kids for most of their life. But now, good jobs are tough to find when you don't have that education and experience! I talk to her a lot about that. I at least would like her to have a college education behind her, find a career that she loves, and when she marries and has children and maybe wants to stay home with them, she will have something to fall back on later. Oh-another question-I have always lived in the north metro area and haven't ventured out much. I would like my kids to experience travel and even just heading down towards the cities to check out all of the great things to see and do (which we now do just a bit). It doesn't seem there is a whole lot of entertainment in the St. Cloud area etc. I think experiencing all of the different cultures is really important and meeting lots of people. What are your thoughts on the cities compared to the northern half of the state regarding this?

[jojo61397]

I went to St Scholastica, and I don't know if things have changed much since I went there, even though it was a "wet campus" (meaning if you are 21 you are allowed to have beer or wine in your room), there wasn't as much partying as there was at the neighboring UMD. I also loved my professors, it was a very beautiful campus, and really wasn't very expensive with grants available. I LOVED Duluth, and my husband and I are talking about retiring up there versus the Twin Cities when we are done with our Air Force time.

[ozzie679]

If she suffers from separation anxiety. A large school may be too extreme for her. I am very social and I even felt anxiety at SCSU my first year. A dorm experience at any school may be too much for her to handle.. If she chooses the CC route. Make sure you have all of the credits lined up for transfer. SCSU is notorious for not accepting some transfer credits. St Ben's is a good option because they are a small all girls school. I think it will be easier for her to make friends. Wherever she attends school, make sure she gets involved with some type of organization like the Psych Club.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by Kizziebird

I would like my kids to experience travel and even just heading down towards the cities to check out all of the great things to see and do (which we now do just a bit). It doesn't seem there is a whole lot of entertainment in the St. Cloud area etc. I think experiencing all of the different cultures is really important and meeting lots of people. What are your thoughts on the cities compared to the northern half of the state regarding this?

What type of entertainment are you looking for?

[gopher38]

My cousin was just looking into schools last year, and she finally narrowed it down to Duluth and Winona. I don't know beans about either school, but I would have chosen Duluth, just for the city. I think it's a great area. She ended up going to Winona though and seemed really happy about it when I saw her at Xmas. Passed out Warriors shirts to everyone.

[newcastle]

Small private colleges may be your best bet. St. Scholastica has an excellent reputation for health care careers including psychology. I do not know what your daughter may do after having her psych degree as most careers in that field would mean she would need at least a masters if not more education following that in order to practice.

Duluth does not offer nearly the cultural opportunities available in Minneapolis (not suprisingly) and I doubt St. Cloud does either. Yet, CSS, UMD, and UWS all have strong and growing International Student populations on campus and a lot of cultural events come to the Duluth Area. Last Year, CSS hosted the Sowetto Gospel Choir at the DECC and the Mitchell Auditorium hosted numerous international acts on campus. UMD has a great little music hall (weber) and hosts many internatioanl guest lecturers.

The Cities are only 2 1/2 hours away and she could easily go to many cultural events, concerts etc that she can't find anywhere else in the state.

Again, have her visit a lot of schools in order to get the right feel.